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alyson1111

Electrolux Icon double oven problems

alyson1111
12 years ago

I purchased a new Electrolux Icon Pro 30 inch double oven (Model E30EW85GPS5) May 2011 and they were installed in late July 2011. I have had problem after problem with these ovens. Is anyone else having similar issues and how have they been fixed?

While I believe the Electrolux is a good oven it is also very clear that they do have some problems and as a newer appliance line the problems are now just coming out. So here are the problems only one of which I believe is a design issue, the balance I think are bad parts and that I unfortunately have a very expensive lemon in my new kitchen.

The problems:

September 2011- the upper oven door frame started to separate and come apart-- a new door frame was ordered and installed-- 2 vists to complete repair

November-December 2011- upper oven did not seem to be accurately calibrated and was running either too cold or too hot. This caused my cooking time to be off for both Thanksgiving and Xmas parties. January 2012 and new circuit board was installed after the technician verified that the ovens were fluctuating at times as much as 85 degrees above and below the set temperature. - 2 visits to complete this repair.

January 2012- The bottom oven has stopped heating completely following running it through its first self cleaning cycle (that did work but made my house smell for two days diid something internally in the oven melt?). The oven has power and the fan comes on but none of the heating elements heat up, so it can't be used. Waiting for a technician to come diagnose the problem

January 2012-The door frame is coming apart on the bottom oven, same problem that I had on the top oven in September 2011. Waiting for a technician to come evaluate this problem too.

The glide out racks continuously roll in and don't stay out. When I asked the first technician about this he said that they will stay out when a pan is on them with weight--not so. These ovens were installed into a brand new custom built kitchen and we have checked and rechecked; everything is plum level in the cabinet box the oven was installed in. This was 100% custom built kitchen not a prefab kitchen boxes kitchen. If the ovens worked I could live with the annoyance of the racks but it has caused me to burn myself since you have to hold onto the rack once it is pulled out and if you are trying to turn thing over you need to master holding the pan AND rack with one hand as you use the other hand to turn the item, a third hand would be nice OR racks that stay out when you pull them out.

The non-glide out standard racks (one in each oven) tend to stick unless you pull those out perfectly straight. When I complained to the technician about this problem in September he said "yes they tend to do that and Electrolux is aware, there is no fix, just don't use those racks".

BTW I also had a problem on my Electrolux Icon Pro 36 inch slide in gas cook top. One of the cast iron grates cracked the first time I used the cooktop. I was told that was not a warranty item and had to purchase a replacement grate at a cost of over $150.

My experience is soooo different than what I had researched on these appliances. .To be continued I'm guessing

Comments (19)

  • rhome410
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Have you outlined all of these problems to Electrolux directly? I think I would be making some noise. It's all within their rights to fix things as they happen, but it's not meeting your needs or solving the overall problem, which seems to be a lemon oven.

    Wow, I wouldn't expect a cooktop grate should crack with first use, and would've fought with Elux on that one, too. It seems only a defect would've caused that, and it should be under warranty, but I'm not familiar with their fine print. Ethics and legality aren't always the same. Is your retailer of any help in dealing with the manufacturer on your behalf?

  • billy_g
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We have this oven, installed about the same time, and do not have these problems. The door frames are fine and the oven racks work properly.

    We had one problem that was probably our fault. The bottom oven stopped heating up all the way. We had lined the bottom of the oven with foil and the technician said this allows the heat to build up because the foil isolates the thermostat from the bottom heating coil and bottom coil burned up. The technicians were very good about this and replaced the coil, and they adjusted both oven temperatures. We could have adjusted the oven temperatures on our own as the Electrolux allows the user to re-program the temperature settings.

    We have never used the self-clean "suicide" feature and we never plan to.

    We are very happy with the oven.

    Do what rhome410 suggests... Good luck getting a replacement - you deserve it.

    Billy

  • wekick
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    alyson1111, Believe me I feel your pain. There is nothing worse than paying for brand new appliances and they don't work. Agree with rhome410. I'm not sure who you are dealing with but I would make sure the salesperson you bought it from knows all of this. Second I would call Electrolux directly. I would tell them both that you want a new oven. It is also unacceptable that they made you pay for new grates. Did you by chance buy your appliances from Sears?

  • alyson1111
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My appliance were purchased through Lowe's. I've called Electrolux and they are "looking into it" with regards to an oven replacement. The sales person at Lowes directs me to the warranty service number.

    Yesterday when the service technician came out (5th visit) he said he would order parts and that the repair must be done on a weekday (so I have to take another day off work). He said that he needed to be able to call Electrolux for assistance as he did the repair on the thermo regulator and or thermo cut off. He said it is a 2 man job and ovens need to be pulled out of the cabinet to reach the parts that are now broken /faulty. He also strongly suggested to NOT use the self cleaning function in these ovens, truly unbelievable. All the time off work is costing me more than the savings of deciding on the Electrolux Icon ovens and slide in cook top.

  • wekick
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is really surprising that Electrolux is not treating you better. They replaced my oven immediately when I had some chipping on the inside of the enamel. I had issues with my last set of appliances and taking time off was the worst and very expensive. It also says something about Lowes, that they won't help you--afterall that is who took your money. I will be waiting to hear what E-lux does.
    The reason I asked about Sears is they buy at least some of their appliances without a manufacturers warranty and supposedly service the appliances themselves. I bought a range from them and it had a big chip popped off of the front about a month after I got it. The written warranty was for all defects but they refused to honor it saying I should have bought their warranty.

  • alyson1111
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The extended service through Lowe's is clearly part of the issue in why the ovens are not being replaced. Their record keeping seems to be non existant of previous repair visits and I have had to fax them more than once the service /repair paperwork. Even after doing this they tell me they need to obtain copies of the service calls from Electrolux AND that they will not even consider exploring a replacement oven until after the current problems are fixed. They also seem to have a very small pool of contracted service companies which means daysto a week until the technician comes to look at the problems, several weeks to order the parts and then once the parts are in more time before you can schedule for the parts to be installed.

    I'm so frustrated and this is costing me so much time!

  • billy_g
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, that's too bad. The appliance dealer we used has a GREAT service department -- I wish we could loan them to you.

    It almost sounds like your oven was dropped during shipment or installation. It doesn't make sense to have all those broken door frame and rack alignment issues.

    You should try to escalate this through Electrolux, to the service rep's manager's manager's manager if necessary.

    Billy

  • wekick
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Agree with Billy. I would try to deal with Electrolux directly. I wonder if Lowes backs the warranty themselves as Sears does and that is why they are putting you off. If your oven wasn't dropped, it can be damaged if they stack them higher than what they are supposed to in the warehouse. When we got out new appliances, every appliance had been damaged in some way. The dishwasher, first oven and microwave were delivered totally trashed.

  • hilltop1155
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This really makes me nervous. I just decided on a 30" Elux Icon double oven for our new home. Now I'm wondering if that was a mistake. Self-clean is self-destruct? That isn't a huge feature for us but I'd expect it to work without damaging the oven. Has anyone else had problems with this model?

  • alyson1111
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is a follow-up to all the problems with my Electrolux ICON Pro double ovens-(E30EW85GPS5).

    Yesterday Electrolux approved us for replacement of our ovens and the new ones should be here and installed in about 2 weeks. Based on all the research I have done I truly do believe my problems were unique and that my units were lemons and that over all the Electrolux Icon Pro is a good oven�time will tell once the new ones are here and I can start using them. Furthermore, Lowe's (where I purchased the ovens from) said once the new ovens are here to call their extended warranty department and they can assign a new end date to my extended protection plan based on the install date of the new replacement ovens.
    So a few lessons learned from this experience:

    Deal directly with the appliance manufacturer on new appliances not the store's warrant service. Even if they say as a consumer convenience they will handle both the manufacturers and extended warrant issue.
    Keep great records of everything and if you can photo copy the service mans paperwork for the repair order.
    Conference call all involved parties together so you can all hear the same thing at the same time. There were some huge communication disconnects between the repair companies, Lowe's and Electrolux regarding paperwork and repair /problem and diagnostic history.

    If the first resolution offered is not acceptable say so and stand firm. Initially Electrolux offered me a 3 month manufacturers warrant extension and not replacement of my defective ovens. I said no that was useless, especially since I purchased the extended protection plan.

    Do not consider buying these ovens without also getting an extended service plan, but I would say that on any oven today.

    In shopping for the appliances in our new kitchen we found that most of the high end appliances (Wolf, Viking, Dacor, Electrolux Icon...) were all priced the same store to store with prices set by the manufactures. We found the saving to occur in combined cost of delivery, installation and especially the cost of the extended service plans. In this we found Sears/ Home Goods to have the most expensive extended service plans on appliances and for Lowe's to have some of the least expensive service plan, especially since they have a reduced price for multiple appliance bundles on the service agreement.

    With regards to the cracked cooktop grate (cracked after first time using high heat) on my Electrolux Icon Pro slide in cook top; Electrolux is sending me part of the replacement cost of the grate-- $75 of the $155 I paid for the new grate. They said I never contacted them when it broke, correct I contacted Lowe's since that is what the store said to do for all needs on my new appliances.

    To be continued once the replacement ovens are installed...

  • wekick
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You are right.
    I was contacted by a manufacturer through this forum and asked not to disparage their products on this forum so they do watch --at least some of them do.
    I would say in some cases the guy who makes commission on the sale of your appliances can move things along as well, especially with smaller appliance stores. The worst service seems to be from the "service department".

    Good luck with your new oven.

  • billy_g
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    In addition I would say not to buy higher end appliances at Lowes or Home Depot. If you have the option - Use a well-respected appliance dealer that has its own service department.

    I'm glad this working out for you! In thinking about your problems it really sounds like someone dropped your oven hard during shipment. It doesn't make sense that the door frames would be coming apart, etc. Let us know how your replacement works out! We are very happy with our Electrolux double Icon...

    Oh, and don't EVER use self-clean!

    Billy

  • rhome410
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Alyson, I'm so happy things are being resolved for you by Electrolux!

    It is worth their time to monitor forums like this, because your initial post would've been enough to turn me off of their ovens if I was planning to buy.

    If self clean is going to ruin an oven, it'd be likely to do so within the first couple of uses, so within a warranty period. Seems if we pay for it, we should be able to use it...

  • wekick
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    rhome410-

    "If self clean is going to ruin an oven, it'd be likely to do so within the first couple of uses, so within a warranty period. Seems if we pay for it, we should be able to use it..."

    Agree.
    Don't put it on there if it will ruin the oven. I have used mine right along on my ovens.

  • a2gemini
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    elux does monitor this forum. I contacted elux directly from the forum. I do think they care and really want to be customer responsive.
    Good luck with you new ovens. You definitely deserve them!
    Many of the upper end appliances are "fair trade", so the price is the same at all stores.

  • peripheral
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Unfortunately, I have to add to list of people with bad experiences.

    I also have the double oven (E30EW85GPS 5 - Manufactured July 2010, purchased Nov 2010) and just found out that self-clean = self-destruct. After using the self-clean for the first time this weekend, the upper oven no longer heats up. The bottom starts to heat, so it seems to still be working. However, I shut it off as soon as I started to see it heat up because I didn't want to inadvertently cause more problems. I think it's better not to use the oven at all until I can arrange to have someone look at it.

    I've submitted a customer service request to Electrolux and am waiting a response.

  • Karen Jespersen
    8 years ago

    oh my gosh! I used my self cleaning for the first time and the stupid lower oven won't heat up anymore. I was looking online for troubleshooting solutions and found this forum. Great. I'm not happy with Electrolux appliances at all. First the dishwasher...then the microwave oven....then the gas stove and now the oven. I hope they will help me with my oven. I have had it for 2 years and hand cleaned it until 2 weeks ago when I decided to 'try' the auto clean feature. BIG MISTAKE.

  • HU-120815600
    3 years ago

    Electrolux has been the worst company ive ever dealt with, and will no longer purchase any of their products. Every one of their appliances have broken down. The wave touch refrigerator has had 3 icemakers and a power board, due to fact that a heating module fell off the bottom of the icemaker and shorted out the power board. The wall oven and microwave have both broken down. The oven had melted an aluminum pan and cracked the oven liner, which is no longer available. The dishwasher has broken down, whats left? 10 thousand dollars of junk. Samsung here I come. Electrolux finally offered either discounted parts at an extreme high prices or 10% new purchase what a joke